[wriot]

Hey there,

When I think about Japan I often get the feeling that Japan is an extremely modern and technologically advanced nation, but what sets is apart from other modern european nations and the US is the way that it has developed whilst maintaining a strong sense of its own culture. When I try to think of good examples which show this however I have quite a hard time - I was wondering if anybody out there might have some good ideas.

The sort of things I have come up with are how the traditional Ryokan Onsen is such a popular place to stay (and expensive) despite there being arguably more luxurious and advanced hotels? This possibly shows that Japanese take comfort in their own culture?

The perserverance of Japanese bathing culture and visiting bath houses - rather than just taking a shower?

I have also been trying to think of places where traditional buildings exist alongside more modern buildings - possibly Sensō-ji in Asakusa with buildings such as the Asahi building in the same area.

I don't think these examples are very strong and I'm having a bit of a mental block at the moment! If you have any angles on this concept and can give me any examples which show either Japan choosing tradition over technology or a modern approach which maintains tradition, then I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks!

(PS. I am European and have never been able to visit Japan so I might not know what I'm talking about!)